Sadiq Khan Wins Second Term as Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan Wins Second Term as Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan has won a second term as London’s mayor, beating Conservative rival Shaun Bailey. He won 55.2% of the popular vote, after entering a run-off with Mr Bailey when neither managed to secure a majority in the first round of voting.
The former MP became the first Muslim mayor of an EU capital city when he was first elected to the role in 2016.
Speaking at City Hall, he promised “to strain every sinew to help build a better, brighter future for London”.
The Green Party’s Sian Berry came third, while the Liberal Democrats’ Luisa Porritt was fourth.
The Lib Dems lost their deposit, as Ms Porritt failed to win more than 5% of the vote.
Elsewhere on Saturday evening, Labour lost overall control of Durham county council while the Tories continued to make inroads in its traditional heartlands.
Mr Khan was seen as the favourite throughout the campaign, with some pollsters predicting he would win more than half of the first-round votes.
The 51-year-old failed to reach his record-setting vote total of 2016, but won with a 228,000-vote majority.
Mr Khan’s closest rival was Mr Bailey, who received 44.8% of the first and second-round votes, and increased the Conservative vote share by 1.6%.
Speaking after the results were announced, Mr Khan said: “I will always be a mayor for all Londoners, working to improve the lives of every single person in this city.
“The results of the elections around the UK shows our country, and even our city, remains deeply divided.
“The scars of Brexit have yet to heal. A crude culture war is pushing us further apart.”
Mr Khan continued: “Economic inequality is getting worse both within London and in different parts of our country.
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“As we seek to confront the enormity of the challenge ahead, and as we endeavour to rebuild from this pandemic, we must use this moment of national recovery to heal those damaging divisions.”
Mr Bailey said he had been “written off” by pollsters, journalists and other politicians, adding: “But Londoners didn’t write me off.”
He congratulated Mr Khan but said he hoped the re-elected mayor would not “blame everything on the government”.
During his tenure as mayor, Mr Khan has had run-ins with the government over coronavirus restrictions and Transport for London’s finances.
Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/
